JOCKEYS ON TRAINERS.

NZ Truth, Issue 245, 5 March 1910, Page 2

JOCKEYS ON TRAINERS.

Two . wellfknown. horsemen, both of whom are men of the World and very capable, riders,' : had a word • m the ear of this writer last'weeK, and the gist bir their conversation was as follows-: — "Jockeys' arc always getting into trouble for being unable to win on favorites, when the fact is that the horses are m ninety-nine cases .out of a hundred quite unable to raise a decent gallop. Horses .are backed by the stable for a lot of money m the ring, and the lead is followed by the great B.P. The favorite fails, and the uninitiated who know no Letter rush into print, and for weeks then we hear of jockeys' rings, the pulling of the fayorite, etc., etc." ■ The whole trouble, m the jockeys' opinion, was that the trainers, or some of them, do" not know their, work and should hot be licensed. It was argued that it is too easy nowadays to obtain a license. All one had to do was to get any sort of an old crock and the metropolitan clubs, would license the owner irrespective of whether he knew from which end a horse kicks or not. "It fs marvellous the number of men who have become licensed trainers m the colony," added the writer's informant's, "and it is equally marvellous how they last. Sometimes they have a horse and sometimes they have not. In the latter case— which is the more often— they live by tip-slinging. Without desiring to reflect j on the general run of trainers, it must be admitted .that there 'are men licensed as trainers who have no right" to be. The haphazard system m which licenses are doled out is regrettable, and a more rigid ■ system is needed. No man should be granted a trainer's license unless he has had some experience m a stable and knows something of the business. Indeed, no license should be granted until .an examination is passed." (It- would be rather difficult to insist on this course.) These remarks were prompted by the wholesale cases of inconsistency that have taken place of late. As is well known, the general square off of the trainer is "Oh, it was the jockey- taking hold of him on the first day," when m reality^ it" is a case of a trainer not knowing how his horse was, and thus getting his puttters into financial difficulties. The final argument adduced was. that when a jockey cannot ride, he is quickly shoved aside, and a similar course, ought to be adopted with trainers who do not know what work to give a horse. . In the above remarks, ."Spearmint" generally concurs, as he knows that they are earnest m substance. At every meeting nowadays, there are horses racing m bad condition.